Help Support Ians Recovery

OUR TREASURED FRIEND IAN NEEDS OUR HELP!!!!!

My name is Matt and Ian is a longtime friend/brother of mine and many others that is going through a time in his life that is so difficult it seems impossible to even put into words. IAN: the most passionate, empathetic, loving, kind, reliable, adventurous, determined, generous, courageous, kind soul that many of us have ever been in the presence of, NEEDS OUR HELP!! Please take a few moments of your time to read about the extremely unfortunate situation that almost claimed Ian’s life earlier this summer and how it is so important for us to gather around him and his family as much as we all possibly can in this time of need!

Every individual that has had the opportunity to be blessed with Ian’s presence and friendship would all agree that Ian would do anything he could to help others in need. As lifelong friends, Ian was there for me in every way possible, good times and bad, thick and thin, he would never leave me hanging, or anyone around him for that matter. He is at times a bit eccentric; LOL I think we can all agree on that, but it always comes from a place of love, passion and determination for what he loved most in life. Fishing, hiking, camping, animals, exploring, creating, MX riding, building anything and everything, and most of all discovering new things in the world around him at every given opportunity. Unfortunately, with the exception of his positive attitude and continued determination, most of these things Ian has grown to love in life have been stripped away from him.

On, May 27th 2023, Ian suffered a massive basilar artery thrombosis (brain stem stroke) that nearly took his life. For anyone that is not familiar, this type of stroke forms at the base of the brain where the two vertebral arteries join, starving the brain of blood and oxygen. 95% of the time this type of stroke leads to death, or at very least complete loss of all bodily functions and motor skills that many never recover from.

It was a normal evening for Ian and his wife Caitlin on a holiday weekend at the start of the summer. Around 930 pm, Ian remembers being outside at his residence admiring the night sky when he noticed his spatial awareness was off, looking around he was becoming increasingly dizzy, unable to stand up straight, walk straight and difficulty supporting his own body weight. Knowing something was wrong, Ian proceeded inside to find Caitlin for help, and became increasingly more unaware of his surroundings and more and more dizzy.

When he reached Caitlin in the bedroom, he managed to communicate "I need help" in an extremely mumbled slur. He proceeds to fall on the bed and begins to shake, as Caitlin is trying to figure out what is happening. Ian is fully coherent in his brain at this moment, but can't communicate to Caitlin what is happening to him. Ironically, with Ian's past medical experiences, he knew what was happening in that moment, but sadly could not inform Caitlin at all verbally how serious it was. Knowing this, he resorted to physically shaking his body and extremities to try and communicate the seriousness of the situation.

Immediately Caitlin dials 911. Medics take what seems to be an eternity to arrive at their home. Initially the medics struggle to understand what is happening to Ian and crucial time was lost before finally getting Ian into an ambulance and transporting him to Chester Chester County Hospital

Once they arrived, the staff/drs at CCH failed to identify the seriousness of the situation for quite some time as they casually monitored him with no urgency, and completed what tests they believed to be important at that time.

Imagine being fully coherent with vomit all over you, unable to control your bowels, unable to talk or move, but you CAN understand what people are saying around you and all you can do is pray in your head that you live to see another day.

Hours into Ian’s ordeal, the Dr's at CCH received some information that led them now to understand what was happening to Ian and he immediately was flown to UPenn in Philadelphia, where he was intercepted just in the nick of time. Drs immediately rushed him inside the hospital, where Ian remarkably recalls that moment, " I remember the doors opening, and a team of doctors rushing me down the hall on the gurney, bright lights flashing by. The drs are running and at the same time all performing different tasks on me. I remember being scared to death at this moment, until one Dr got my attention and said " Ian, Ian listen to me" he looks me in the eyes, "we are going to perform a procedure and we consider it to be life saving, ok? ok?".....Ian somehow with one last ditch effort, managed to mumble the words "Yes". It was at this moment that Ian recalls he was finally able to "let go and put the grace of god in the hands of the medical professionals". Ian specifically recalls this moment and as you can imagine, was as close to death as anyone can get. The doctors then worked as quickly as possible to remove the blockage and attempt to restore blood flow to Ian's brain. The surgery was successful!

The next thing Ian remembers is waking up, not being able to move, or talk accompanied by loved ones and medical staff. Very quickly, Ian realizes that his life would never be the same. However, Ian being Ian, makes light of an impossible reality and decides to make the best of what he still has. Ian proceeds to spend a week at Upenn under close observation, before being transferred to Bryn Mawr Rehab.

At BMR Ian proceeds to undergo intense rehabilitation to gain as much physical and mental strength/ability back. Against all odds, Ian was determined to recover much faster than doctors anticipated or thought could be possible. We all have to pause here and try and wrap our heads around how fortunate Ian is at this point! To reiterate, individuals with this type of stroke rarely ever see the light of day again. Not only is Ian awake and starting to communicate with loved ones. He is determined to recover (walk out of BMR) in three weeks’ time. No one believed him, but we all believed in him!

Again, Ian being Ian, set the bar for himself extremely high and did everything in his power to hit it. After spending 3 weeks at BMR, with what Ian describes as "the most wonderful, caring, compassionate, empathic, selfless, staff on earth" he miraculously regained his ability to walk, and talk almost completely and did exactly what he promised us he would do! Sheer, brute determination, the power of god, and the love around him is to thank! Ian is doing much better at this time while continuing to recover in the comfort of his home.

Ian and his family continue to struggle on a daily basis with even what some of us would consider the most basic tasks of everyday life. For example cooking, cleaning, home upkeep, taking the trash out ect....While Ian and family continue to work on these task’s day in and day out, the world/life continues to move forward around them at full speed and it is extremely overwhelming, if not impossible, as anyone could imagine it might be.

With Ians continued recovery, he does not have the ability to work and lead a normal life as it once was. Ian wakes up every day with the burning determination to try just a little bit harder, and make each day just a little bit better than the one before it with all his might. But the piling up of medical bills and everyday living expenses makes this task so increasingly difficult. If you're able to help show your support, with even the smallest of donations, you will be helping these two incredible souls trudge forward and one day help others that are in need as they remember all who were able to help them in their time of need/support.

Over the past weeks, I've spent a lot of time with Ian and wanted to share some of the things he has said to me while just listening and admiring his ability to keep a positive spirit.

"This is a gift to me. I'm in the throes of it now and it's difficult to see at times, but this is a gift. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I know for sure that this happened to me for a reason and that my outlook on life/love, friends/family has changed forever. Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right"

“I feel as though I've been dragging a parachute behind me my whole life, slowing me down and sometimes making it impossible to be free at all. As soon as I woke up I realized someone cut the cord”

“I've realized the only thing that matters in life is being the best possible version of yourself and always trying to help those around you that might need it.”

“I’ve realized this world needs more acceptance of others and love for everyone in it.”

“Humans need to stop battling each other and start embracing each other”

“The problem is judgment, everyone is so quick to judge, and has no time to listen and empathize with one another.”

Ian has always battled the hardships of everyday life with his chin up, a big smile, and endless laughter. He is a beacon of light that radiates positivity and warmth for many of us that had the pleasure of knowing him. Unfortunately, Ian has found himself in a place that very few of us could even begin to comprehend. This cry for help is extremely humbling for Ian, as you can imagine it would be for anyone. Together we can help him and his family focus on healing without the dark cloud of a financial catastrophe hanging over their heads.

Many of us (fortunately) don't know what it’s like to have to relearn how to swallow, walk, talk, feed yourself, bathe, relieve yourself or even shift your weight in bed. Many of us will never understand just how frustrating it is to recover from such a traumatic injury. What we can do, however, is show Ian that we care and admire his determination! All who are able to, please help!

One last note, all that are not able to show your support through a monetary donation, your love/support can still be shown via a message to Ian and family of positivity and compassion. Ian will do his best to respond to any messages he receives and greatly appreciates them!